How to Insert Bibliography in Microsoft Word for a Mac

Microsoft Word produces bibliographies for the most common academic style guides -- MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), Chicago and Turabian. The newer versions (2008 and 2011) of Word for Mac can automatically generate a bibliography after you have entered your sources (books, articles, websites, etc.) into the Citations tool. Word allows you to add, edit or delete sources at any time while you work on a document. Sources can be added all at once or as you use them in your writing.

Word for Mac 2011

Step

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Locate the Reference tab, which, by default, is the third tab from the right. Choose a documentation style (APA, Chicago, MLA or Turabian) from the drop-down menu.

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Click on the "Manage" button to bring up the Citations tool.

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Click the gear icon at the bottom right of the Citations tool, and choose "Citation Source Manager" from the drop-down menu.

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Select the "New" button and the Create a New Source menu will open.

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Choose the type of source from the drop-down menu at the top. Complete the appropriate fields (author, title, etc.) for this source. Follow the above steps to add each of the sources used in your document.

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Determine where to place the bibliography in the document and place the cursor at the desired insertion point. (Bibliographies usually start on a new page at the end of the document.)

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Click on "Bibliography" under the Reference tab on the Ribbon. When you click on the Bibliography button, Word will list all of your sources under a new heading: "Bibliography."

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Format the bibliography based on the fonts and styles of your document. Select the entire bibliography and choose the appropriate font and type size from the "Home" tab in the Ribbon. By default, the heading "Bibliography" is left-aligned. Center it if your style guide requires this.

Word for Mac 2008

Step

Follow the above steps to insert a bibliography in Word for Mac 2008. However, note that the locations of the Citations tool and insert Bibliography function are different from Word 2011.

Step

Locate the Citations tool under the View menu. It is one of the Toolbox choices. Once you bring up the Citations tool, follow Steps 5 through 7 in the previous section to create a new source.

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Insert the Bibliography by going to the Insert Menu. Choose "Bibliography" from the Document Elements menu. Select your Citation Style Guide from the drop-down menu and then click on "Bibliography."